U.S. patent application Ser. No. 161,799 filed June 23, 1980 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,123 and owned by the assignee of this invention discloses a bottle loading machine wherein a series of open top carriers are moved along a horizontal path and wherein bottles fed along a downwardly inclined path disposed above the path of movement of the carriers are gripped individually by suitable movable gripper means which lowers the bottles into the carriers and thereafter releases the bottles. While this machine operates satisfactorily for many applications, it is not well suited for use in conjunction with bottles having neck portions which are covered with decorative paper, foil or the like because of damage to such coverings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,108 discloses a movable loading grid having groups of guide fingers which extend into the cells of open top cartons so as to allow loading of the cartons off of the end of a dead plate. In this arrangement the movable loading grid does not feed the bottles into a loading station.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,774 discloses a device for loading articles into an open top container in which means are provided for tilting the articles outwardly before being dropped into the container while the container is being moved.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,491 discloses a continuous loading operation wherein articles to be loaded are fed downwardly into open top containers through a series of stepped guides so as to effect a cascading downward movement of the articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,178 discloses an intermittently operable mechanism wherein a platform is provided with upwardly extending fingers which enter holes in the bottom wall of a case to be loaded for the purpose of engaging and cushioning the fall of bottles during a loading operation.